Well, I have officially been transferred from my second home, Penapolis. and am now going to AMERICO BRASILIENSE with my new comp Sister Mevs who is Brazilian, from Rio Grande do Sul.

I am so happy to be here in Americo, everyone says such good things about this place! I am also so torn because I love Penapolis so much, and it was so hard to say goodbye to everyone. I am extra emotional right now since I traveled through the entire night, and I am just feeling a little bit of everything. It’s so weird to leave my Sister Ramos, Sister German and Sister Bonilla too. I am so grateful to god for them. I know I am really going to miss them, just like I miss my other companions, but I know I will love it here too.

It was so rewarding to say goodbye to Tiago and hear him say, “Thank you for all you did for my family”. And to say goodbye to Edilson, because I KNOW he will serve a mission and bring the gospel to so many, and go on to be a HUGE LEADER in the church. I am so happy for this. Leonardo, has a baptismal date for this Saturday, and I will be praying that all goes well and he can be baptized soon. I am so sad to be leaving the zona Birigui (the good kind of sad, you know?)

This conference I heard so many messages that were just for me. I loved how they talked about service, really losing ourselves, focusing on the Savior, relying on the book of mormon, and the prophet. I am so grateful and so blessed. I loved conference SO MUCH and am just happy here in Brazil!

I already look back on my mission with so much love and don’t even know why I am so lucky in my life, or not lucky, because coincidences don’t happen, but feeling so blessed.

Love you guys!! <333

Have faith have hope, live like his son, help others on their way. what does he ask? live like his son!

THIS WEEK WAS SO TOTALLY AWESOME. And let me tell you all about Saturday. The Penápolis branch is literally so cool. Almost everyone came to the baptism on Saturday! The attendance is normally from 55 to 65, and there were 40 people at the baptism! Which is basically everyone. And we could count on 2 hands the people that didn’t show up. Everybody came out to support Tiago and his family, and it was so cool.

Irmã Bette Caldeira made 2 HUGE cakes, one was sweet and the other salty (that doesn’t even make sense) but it was basically a huge sandwich, and everyone wrote them notes for them to keep and read, and the primary sang, and it was seriously so cool. The two recent converts who are priests performed the baptisms, which was sick because I was here to see them two be baptized tooo! Seriously, we are so happy, and I’ve never seen a ward come out so much for a baptism like this one. I am so incredibly happy.

In other news, things are going great, too. We found some awesome new investigators this week, 3 of which were people who came to the wedding last week and talked to the branch president afterwards, searching for help to improve and change their lives.

We are excited to bring people to general conference this weekend. The hardest part of a mission for me is for sure worrying about things that aren’t even important, or being hard on myself. But I am learning and growing a lot, and the more and more I am here, the more I don’t even like thinking that one day the mission will have to come to an end.

We had interviews with President Scholz. He is so cool. I don’t think there is a mission president out there who likes to joke more than President Scholz. He knows what’s important, and lets the other stuff go.

I’m just soaking in all of the blessings……

Today starts my 18th week with Sister Ramos. I learn SO MUCH with her, and she is helping me to improve so much! Other than that, we are still working with Leonardo. On Monday, it was his 37th birthday and he had never had a bday party or bday cake but Irma Bette threw him a party with a surprise cake and he was so happy he cried. So many members came (it was a branch family home evening) and Irmao Antõnio shared a message from the Liahona of this month, where Elder Uchtdorf talked about happiness. I loved the part that said that we find happiness when we are not focused on finding happiness, but on doing other edifying things, like service. Really, when we focus on helping others, we will find that we become happy. And that’s why a mission is so good, because through sharing what that I have, I come to realize how much I really do have. The rest of the family home evening was so much joking and playing around and it was so totally awesome. The first night I was here in Penapolis, we had a FHE at the same place and it was sort of like de ja vu for Sister Germann and I. I can’t believe that I have passed so much time here and also that it’s coming to an end. So I think that’s a wrap.

I wish I could bring you all here to have been at the parties of this week, but one day I’ll share all the videos with you. I take sooo many videos, it would make Grandpa Chapple so proud. 🙂

Have faith have hope, live like his son, help others on their way. What does he ask? Live like his son!

Or STRONG-end, as my seminary teacher Brother Grimes taught me, because everything, as is to be expected here in Brazil is awesome, and the week is finishing STRONG!

THIS PAST WEEK WAS AWESOME SERIOUSLY BECAUSE THERE WAS A WEDDING, WHICH MEANS THIS CURRENT WEEK WILL BE AWESOME TOO, because it is going to be Tiago, and Rillary, and Leonardoś baptism! Pray with us that everything will go well with all 3 of them! I’m sending home a few pictures. :)))

This week was full of miracles. We thought that we wouldn’t be able to keep teaching Leonardo, but turns out his plans fell through and so he is staying here where we can keep teaching him, and he can keep coming to church, and be baptized this week! And Tiago, at his wedding, gave a little speech about how now, after being married, they are living correctly in the sight of the lord, and how happy he is that they are doing the right thing. I am so so so happy for him and the blessings of the gospel in his life.

We found some new super neat investigators, and the time is FLYING by. I just am not ready for that. I’m also sending home a picture of Edilson, with a “future missionary” wrist band that Elder Jones gave him. He never takes it off. This weekend he is going to a tour of the MTC in Sao Paulo. He is going with President Vagner (the branch president) and they are also going to the baptistry there in the temple to do baptisms for the dead, and hasn’t even been 2 months since Eldilson got baptized! He’s so awesome, and would be baptizing someone this Saturday if he didn’t already have this trip planned. This week he helped the sisters in the other area here in Penapolis with one of their investigators and went by his house for them to ride their bikes to church together and it was awesome because it totally worked. he is awesome! Buuuut yep, can’t you see that everything is awesome here for us now in Brazil?!

I am so happy and so so grateful that I wasn’t transferred from Penapolis. It was so neat to be at Tiago and Andreias wedding. We went to the Cartório (city hall for weddings) with them in the morning, where they were legally married, and at night they had a huge party at church. Many of their family and friends came, and there were a few that sought out president Vagner after to ask for help, to stop drinking, or with other things in their life. So we are going to go visit them this week.

It’s so neat to know how the gospel is such a huge blessing, and that because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, it has power to really change our lives and bless them so much. I am so grateful for my mission and for everything, and I want to be even more grateful, because being grateful is what brings real joy, and focusing on others instead of myself- looking outwards instead of inwards.

The last weekend of this transfer will be general conference, which means I will have passed 1 general conference in each of my 3 areas. It’s weird that I’ve only have 3 areas, and 6 companions, right? But we are doing great here, and I could stay here for the rest of my mission and it would be awesome.

As for a few things from this week to make you giggle, we met someone named Hello (okay actualy Helô, as in Heloise, but it is pronounced like hello in english). We marked with her to come back 15 hours later, at 10:30 am. And so when we returned, were there at her door clapping our hands and screaming “Hello! Hello? hello?!?!?!” and we were laughing so much and it was awesome. So even though she wasn’t there (and we were saying hello to a closed door) we got a kick out of that one😊.

Also, we are teaching a woman who was Jehovah’s witness for 7 years but isn’t anymore and has desire to investigate the church. We are doing what we can to help her come to church.

Have faith have hope, live like his son, help others on their way. What does he ask? Live like his son!

Love you guys buckets and buckets,

Sister Chapple

us with Tiagos family and his parents, right after their legal wedding

us at the wedding party! with the bride and groom

irmão Leonardo and us

wearing matching outfits or “uniforms” as we say here

Edilson with his future missionary wrist band

so many salgados at the wedding!

us with irmão leonardo when we thought we werent going ot be able to teach him anymore

everytime we have money for lunch we make burritos, or tacos. we made homeade tortillas and homeade refried beans!!!

me and my comp at the wedding (SO HAPPY)

us on Sunday, there was a different glow about them after the wedding

at the cartório on Saturday- Paula was a witness, and at the party at night, her and Edilson were a couple for the walking in and everything (padrinho e madrinha?)

Going to the “Chapples” and they’re gonna get married? ha-haTHERE IS SO MUCH TO SAY AND I’M RUNNING OUT OF TIME. It’s awesome here, as always. And I am happy, and feeling awesome to be here doing missionary work.

For Leonardo, this week we are praying a lot that he can be baptized this weekend! And we are praying also for Tiago and Andreia, that everything will go well with their wedding on SATURDAY. YES, WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR THEM!! Think of a couple of happy missionaries, and then just look at a pic of me and my comp. That’s us. 😊

Turns out I got Brazilian-famous this week by a video that a member posted of me singing, so that was fun, haha. And I’m sending a bunch of pictures home of our zone conference. That’s pretty much it. I have so much that I’d like to say, and I’m grateful to be here. Seriously it’s the best ever. Also, its getting warmer, and every night now and it’s impossible to sleep without a fan, in case you wanted to know. And as always in our lives we have so much to be grateful for!

I love you all!!!!!

P.S. I know there’s a bunch more I want to say that I forgot.

Have faith have hope, live like his son, help others on their way. What does he ask? Live like his son!

Editor’s note : Here are some pictures of p-day with Paula. She is a member mom in the Penapolis branch where these girls are serving. She loves and spoils the Sister Missionaries immensely. She has said more than once they are like daughters to her and she loves them dearly. She goes on splits with them, feeds them lunch and ice cream sundaes often, plans branch parties with them (once a week it seems), goes with them on teaching appointments, takes them to do fun things on p-day, drives them to appointments when it is too far or too hot or too rainy to walk easily, and loves and cares for them with a mother’s love. We are so grateful to her for the love, kindness and support she gives them. We love Paula!

Yes, that is a dinosaur wearing Sister Chapples missionary tag just in case you’re wondering. Not sure he would have the best door approach, lol !

Translation- To taste the blessings of being blessed in August (a play on words in Portuguese about August and the blessings of being blessed)

First of all my cousin is engaged! Congrats to Tiffany and Logan!!!! I can’t believe you’re going to be a Nebeker, and that just like Aunt Melanie beat my dad at the getting married race, my younger cousin (and her two brothers) all beat me too. Let’s see if Lindsay beats me too. (p.s. I’m just kidding. I’m super happy for you and also happy that this time the wedding will be AFTER I get home). Now back to Brasil….

THIS WEEK WAS …YES… AWESOME!! Okay there is always so much to say but also so little because the monitor doesn’t respond so I feel a little like I’m talking to myself but… something that made this week awesome was that we started teaching lots of people that we “found” through members, aka their friends or family or people they know…. which makes everything so much better. And ….5 PEOPLE CAME TO CHURCH. THAT’S AWESOME!

However, let me tell you something a little bit sad. It’s that recently SO MANY OF OUR INVESTIGATORS have been deciding, after just starting to know the gospel, that they don’t want anything more, and have been sending us text messages or calling to drop us, or as we say here, to “cut us” lol right? But seriously, right now one of our AWESOME and SUPER PREPARED investigators, who came to church this week, called and said that she won’t becoming to church with us anymore- aka FOR SURE someone told her something contra about the church and so now she doesn’t want anything. But we won’t give up on her so fast. Pray with us for her that she will let the gospel bless her life. Yesterday at church she was feeling the spirit so strong, even before the meeting started. that was something super neat, that the spirit has the responsibility to touch people and show them that this is the truth. We had a similar experience with one of our other investigators this week, who, after coming to church and progressing so well, decided that she won’t be coming anymore and doesn’t want our help or to accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I haven’t given up on her either, and have hope that she will accept the truth and the gospel for what it is.

We had an investigator that came to church drunk, and he needs a lot of help and wants us to help him, but he wasn’t even letting us come over to teach him. He said that this week will be different. The mission is awesome because in the mission it’s like you really have power to help people-when they want it. Well actually, with the gospel we always have that, but in the mission we spend all of our time finding people who want the help, and he is already so grateful to us.

I love being a missionary and I love the lord and his gospel. Also Leonardo also still often calls me Shirley Chapple. I love it, ha-ha! And since I updated you when we stopped sleeping with the portable fan I’ll let you know that this week we started again sleeping WITH the portable fan. Also, the fans run during church too.

Tomorrow we are going to have mission conference, aka, I am going to Ribeirao Preto, aka 7 hours of traveling, and I think I am going to go visit Luciana and Vitinho! (WOOT!)

Love you guys!

Have faith have hope, live like his son, help others on their way. What does he ask? Live like his son!

Com Amor,

Sister Chapple

mais uma foto de eu e a Sister Ramos

in our district meeting we celebrated Elder Jones’s birthday (without him because he was transferido)

this week we got henna done on our feet – lol

me with an awesome tree that doesnt have any more leaves just a bunch of yellow flowers…(and anyone who knows me knows that i love yellow)

You won’t even believe it when I tell you what happened. This week we got a text message from Paula that said “Edilson vai no templo hoje!”

And for all of you Americans (aka all of you) that says “Edilson is going to the temple today!”

Edilson who has only been a member 15 days now, went to the temple less than 30 days after we showed up at his door for the first time! To say we are happy would be an understatement!! (imagine us happy) 😊))

We had interviews with President Sholz this week. I love him so so much! And there is a chance that maybe just MAYBE me and Sister Ramos will get to stay together here in Penapolis. To say we are hoping and praying for that would also be an understatement.

In other news, we are happy. I am happy, loving being a missionary, and it’s still not even that hot. The people are receptive, and we have been having lots of lessons, inviting everyone to come partake of the joy we have as members of the gospel.

So turns out that last night 2 of our investigators decided that they want to get married, and it was only the 2nd or 3rd time that they saw each other. Soooo we are a little scared about that but mostly only just laughing.

Amélia, We are teaching her, and this week our district leader is going to do her baptismal interview. She is scared but so ready. So we are going to help her recognize that. I’ll let you know how it goes. But she is our awesome Brasilian grandma.

And there were lots of other people who said they’d come to church but didn’t. There was this 9 year old, and we were teaching her family, and talking about baptism. She was all, “…AND ME? ARE YOU GOING TO INVITE ME TO BE BAPTIZED? YOU SAID I HAVE AN AGE THAT QUALIFIES! “

and we invited her and she accepted and then said, “IT IS MY BIGGEST DREAM TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE WATERS!’ Of course, with children, it’s a little more complicated than just going to church 2 times and teaching everything because their family has to help them get to church and support them, etc. But still. It was cool.

And we found a new investigator, Maria, who prayed like we invited her to, and received a spiritual confirmation that really we do have a living prophet today. I love being a missionary.

Annnndddd…. Yep, I hope that I can stay here in Penápolis and that I am not transferred.

Today we are going to have another picnic and plan Paulaś surprise birthday party-FHE.

To explain the title of this email, that’s what Leonardo told me. Basically everyone has a hard time saying sister, and he thought my name was Shirley, not sister. I just said “Yep! Almost! ” because I’m basically you mom, right?

KEEP BEING AWESOME EVERYONE! And we will too.

Love you guys, lots like I say every single week). Now I hope you believe it.

Have faith, have hope, live like his son, help others on their way. What does he ask? Live like his son!

Com Amor,

Sister Chapple

me with pastels that the sisters made me to celebrate my 13 months in the mission

us happy when we heard that edilson was going to go to the temple

me and my comp

and the drinking fountains at church always have a comunity cup from which to drink. ALWAYS. so heres a picture of it.

First of all, let me tell you that this keyboard doesn’t have the letter between j and l ha-ha! It rarely works, and I don’t have time to make edit now… This wee as all others have been was red hot! I am sending a picture home of this field that burnt down. In the middle of a lesson we had, there was a bunch of cracling and also smoke so we stopped to call the fire department and they were just like, just let it burn- all of it, because you aren’t allowed to burn fields of trash and weeds but the walls will keep the fire in so the only thing you could do is find the person who burnt it to turn them in. So…. I am sending the picture home of the burnt field.

Are you already tired of hearing about Edilson? Because I’m going to talk about him some more. This wee he received the aaronic priesthood and was ordained a priest which means next wee he is going to bless the sacrament. He also is going to give a talk in sacrament meeting. And we helped him pay his tithing at church! And I looed to him duirng testimony meeting and was all “are you going to bear your testimony?” eeping in mind that he had never even been to a fast and testimony meeting, and he was all, “I’m embaressed but I will next wee when I give my tal .” 10 minutes later he said “I want to go but I’m embarrassed!” so just lie a little family me and sister Ramos went with him and it was so neat. He said ” I’m so happy to have the restored gospel” and an irmao after the meeting came up and was lie, you are happy, but just imagine HOW HAPPY THE SISTERS ARE!

I want to help him as much as I can. He lives seriously super far from the church but comes to seminary which started this past week and also church and is super awesome. He is a HUGE EXAMPLE to me.

I am also sending home a pic of a new investigator, Leonardo. It’s a little hard to see him in the pic but he is awesome and came to church last week. More to come on him later.

As for the wedding, THEY ARE REALLY GOING TO BE MARRIED! ON SEPTEMBER 16TH! AT 9:30 AM! Do you know what that means? It means that we all better pray that I am not transferred here in 2 weeks. Seriously. Before this news I wanted to stay but now I MUST stay!

Hmmm. What else can I say? This week we had a few divisions with the irmas, and with the sisters here at home, and I always learn a lot in divisions. We ran into a member of the church who is inactive, who is mute and deaf, and so is his wife. I wanted to know sign language at that moment but also it’s different than ASL here so…

We had english class again, and some nonmembers came, and they learned super fast the song. I think we are going to finish teaching it this week ha-ha. We received a reference of someone who wanted the book of mormon. She lives in another city, the same one that I went to my 2nd week here in Penapolis, with another reference (these are 2 of 3 media references I have received in my mission) but the lady was like, “I don’t even know how I asked for the book of mormon! It was a mistake. I was on the website and idk, I just put in my address unknowingly.” Okay that’s not her exact words but you understand I think.

I am so thankful to have the restored gospel as such a huge part of my life. All I have and all I am I owe to that. And, as always, I love you!

Have Faith have hope, live like his son, help Others on their way! What does he ask? Live like his son!

Love, Sister Chapple

leonardo, bette caldeira, irmão valdecir and cae they made us

us and a bull in the middle of the street

i love penapolis (here jesus reigns)

me with Paula and Tiago and Andréia and Hilary who actually spells her name rillary or something lie that

me and my compy-comp

the field that was burning and nobody came to put it out- this was the next day after it all burnt down.

EDILSON: heś basically the most elite of the elites. ( i do not know how to spell that word or really even if its a word in english- so sorry)

we finished teaching Edilson.

during his interview, well before, our district leader told him our first names (LAME) but also it was still awesome

turns out that the day before his baptism he moved. to the FARTHEST NEIGHBORHOOD IN PENAPOLIS. FROM US AND FROM THE CHURCH, I THINK

so since he also didnt have acell phone we were like, hopefully he remembers that his baptism is at 2 pmon saturday.

and he showed up. so did his 2 siblings!

and we taught them in the chapel after his baptism, and it was so neat. when he bore his testimony to them, he was all “its like ive already told you guys. now, i have much more peace and hapiness and direction. i know that this is true!” also he went to visit them in the middle of the week last week and was all, ” are you reading the book of mormon?” and them: No. and he made them promise that they would. he is the best.

he came to church in social church clothes, that our district leader gave him. it was aweome.

and went to a ward family home evening last night. and is going to start seminary this week.

i am so lucky to know edilson. seriously i am so happy.

in other news, amelia. im pretty sure she is going to be baptized SUPER SOON.

this week we taught her the word of wisdom, and at church during the word of wisdom lesson she stood up and was like “DRINKING COFEE IS A SIN!!!!” also during our lesson with her she was like “oh how i miss that little black thing!” (right when we told her that the word of wisdom prohibits coffee. needless to say, she stopped drinking coffee. and has now come to church 5 times.

and i actually think that TIAGO AND ANDREIA ARE MARKING THEIR BAPTISM FOR TODAY! YEAH!!! (hopefully right)

in other news, we had mission conference, division in Birigui, and FESTA JULINHA!

man i loved it so much. the hardest part was that i wasnt allowed to dance, but in my head, i was dancing até o pozinho.

and there were so many potential investigators there too! Tainara, Edilson’s sister came, amélia, tiago and hilary, and so many husbands who are not members, and friends of members. it was misisonary heaven and we were super duper happy.

i love being a missionary. i highly recommend it.

when i think about the diference the gospel makes in my life i am overcome with gratitude and emotions. all that i have and all that i am i owe to the lord. i am so happy to be here for him, but even so, i know that im the one who is gaining.

I hope the mission never ends. ( or atleast this feeling of how awesome it is to be a missionary) also i am going to beg president not to transfer me from penapolis (pray for me)

havefaithhavehope, live like his son, help others on their way. what does he ask?